Closed cyclone FCC system with provisions for surge capacity

ABSTRACT

A fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) process and apparatus containing a reactor riser zone and radially extending sidearms as the first catalyst-hydrocarbon product separation means. Hydrocarbon products separated in the sidearms are conducted through an enclosed passageway to a secondary separation means, such as a cyclone. The catalyst is also conducted through the enclosed passageway to a stripping apparatus, wherein entrained hydrocarbons are removed therefrom. The enclosed passageway contains a means for accommodating sudden surges of catalyst flow and increased pressure, e.g., a trickle valve.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation of copending application Ser. No. 812,429, filedon Dec. 23, 1985, now abandoned, which is a division of application Ser.No. 529,451 filed Sept. 6, 1983, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,581,205.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the separation of the catalyst phase from thegasiform phase in a fluidized catalytic cracking unit (FCC). Moreparticularly, it relates to improvements in separating the catalystphase from the gasiform phase, as the suspension comprising both phasesis discharged from a riser conversion zone outlet, to minimize orsubstantially eliminate post-riser conversion zone cracking.

2. Description of the Prior Art

The field of catalytic cracking, particularly fluid catalytic cracking,has undergone significant development improvements due primarily toadvances in catalyst technology and product distribution obtainedtherefrom. With the advent of high activity catalysts and particularlycrystalline zeolite cracking catalysts, new areas of operatingtechnology have been encountered requiring even further refinements inprocessing techniques to take advantage of the high catalyst activity,selectivity and operating sensitivity.

Of particular concern in this field has been the development of methodsand systems for separating gasiform products from fluidizable catalystparticles, particularly from a high activity crystalline zeolitecracking catalysts, under more efficient separating conditions so as toreduce the overcracking of conversion products and promote the recoveryof desired products of a hydrocarbon conversion operation. However,present day cyclonic equipment often permits an undesired extendedresidence time of the product vapor within a large reactor vessel. Thisextended residence time causes a loss of the desired product yield of upto about 4 percent through non-selective thermal cracking. Recentdevelopments in this art have been concerned with the rapid separationand recovery of entrained catalyst particles from gasiform products in ashort contact time riser hydrocarbon conversion operation.

The hydrocarbon conversion catalyst usually employed in an FCCinstallation is preferably a high activity crystalline zeolite catalystof a fluidizable particle size which is transferred in suspended ordispersed phase condition generally upwardly through one or more riserconversion zones providing a hydrocarbon residence time in eachconversion zone in the range of 0.5 to about 10 seconds, and moreusually less than about 8 seconds. High temperature riser hydrocarbonconversions of at least 1000° F. at 0.5 to 4 seconds hydrocarbonresidence time in contact with the catalyst in the riser are desirablefor some operations before initiating separation of vaporous hydrocarbonproduct materials from the catalyst. Rapid separation of catalyst fromhydrocarbons discharged from a riser conversion zone is particularlydesirable for restricting hydrocarbon conversion time. During thehydrocarbon conversion step, carbonaceous deposits accumulate on thecatalyst particles and the particles entrain hydrocarbon vapors uponremoval from the catalyst conversion step. The entrained hydrocarbonsare subjected to further contact with the catalyst until they areremoved from the catalyst by mechanical means and/or stripping gas in aseparate catalyst stripping zone. Hydrocarbon conversion productsseparated from the catalyst and stripped materials are combined andpassed to a product fractionation step. Stripped catalyst containingdeactivating amounts of carbonaceous material, hereinafter referred toas coke, is then passed to a catalyst regeneration operation.

Various processes and mechanical means have been employed heretofore toeffect rapid separation of the catalyst phase from the hydrocarbon phaseat the termination of the riser cracking zone, to minimize contact timeof the catalyst with cracked hydrocarbons.

Cartmell, U.S. Pat. No. 3,661,799, discloses a process for catalyticconversion of petroleum feedstocks wherein the fluidized mixture of thecracking catalyst and cracked feedstock leaves a vertically-disposedreactor section and enters a cyclone separator, placed in a separatestripper vessel, through a conduit. The conduit contains an annuluswhich allows an inert stripping gas and associated stripped vapors topass into the cyclone separator.

Anderson, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,899, disclose a method for rapidseparation of a product suspension comprising fluidized catalystparticles and the vaporous hydrocarbon product phase by discharging theentire suspension directly from the riser conversion zone into acyclonic separation zone which provides cyclonic stripping of thecatalyst after it is separated from the hydrocarbon vapors. In themethod of Anderson et al., the cyclone separator is modified to includean additional downwardly extending section comprising a lower cyclonestage. In this arrangement, catalyst separated from the gasiformmaterial in the upper stage slides along a downwardly sloping baffle tothe lower cyclone where stripping steam is introduced to furtherseparate entrained hydrocarbon products from the catalyst recovered fromthe upper cyclone. The steam and the stripped hydrocarbons are passedfrom the lower cyclone through a concentric pipe where they are combinedwith the hydrocarbon vapors separated in the upper cyclone. Theseparated and stripped catalyst is collected and passes from the cycloneseparator by conventional means through a dipleg. This process requiresthat the entire volume of catalyst, gasiform phase and stripping steampass through the cyclone separator, which means that this equipment mustbe designed to efficiently handle not only a large vapor volume but alsoa large quantity of solid particles.

Myers et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,070,159, provide a separation meanswhereby the bulk of the solids is discharged directly into the settlingchamber without passing through a cyclone separator. In this apparatus,the discharge end of the riser conversion zone is in open communicationwith the disengaging chamber such that the catalyst discharges from theriser in a vertical direction into the disengaging chamber which isotherwise essentially closed to the flow of gases. The cycloneseparation system is in open communication with the riser conversionzone by means of a port located upstream from but near the discharge endof the riser conversion zone. A deflector cone mounted directy above theterminus of the riser causes the catalyst to be directed in a downwardpath so as to prevent the catalyst from abrading the upper end of thedisengaging vessel. The cyclone separator is of the usual configurationemployed in a catalytic cracking unit to separate entrained catalystparticles from the cracked hydrocarbon products so that the catalystpasses through the dipleg of the cyclone to the body of the catalyst inthe lower section of the disengaging vessel and the vaporous phase isdirected from this vessel to a conventional fractionation unit. There isessentially no net flow of gases within the disengaging vessel beyondthat resulting from a moderate amount of steam introduced to strip thecatalyst residing in the bottom of the disengaging vessel.

Haddad et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,407, disclose the separation of thecatalyst from the gasiform cracked products in a fashion which permitseffective steam stripping of the catalyst. The suspension of catalystand gasiform material is discharged from the riser conversion zoneoutwardly through radially extending passageways, or arms, whichterminate in a downward direction. Catalyst stripping zones, orstrippers, are located beneath the terminus of each of the radiallyextending passageways. Each stripper consists of a vertical chamber openat the top and the bottom with downwardly sloping baffles located withinthe chamber so as to cause the catalyst to flow in a discontinuousmanner countercurrently to upwardly flowing stripping steam introducedat the lower end of the stripping chamber. The radially extending armsare each provided with a curved inner surface and confining sidewalls toimpart a cyclonic concentration of catalyst particles promoting a forcedseparation thereof from the hydrocarbon vapors. The separation of thecatalyst from the vapors is basically achieved through rapid changes inthe direction of flow of the catalyst and the vapors. Thus the cycloniccollection and concentration of catalyst particles is used to reversethe flow of separated catalyst such that it is concentrated as adownwardly confined stream which discharges generally downwardly andinto the open upper end of the catalyst stripping chamber. A vapordisengaging space is provided between the discharge end of the radiallyextending arms and the top of the catalyst strippers to promote therapid removal of separated vapors from the catalyst. The separatedvapors pass upwardly through the disengaging vessel to the open inlet ofa cyclone separator which removes entrained catalyst from the gasiformmaterial for return through a dipleg to the body of steam strippedcatalyst while the separated vaporous material passes to a fractionationunit. The hydrocarbon product, as it passes within the disengagingvessel from the discharge of the radially extending arms to the cycloneseparator, travels in a random fashion and is exposed to catalyticreaction temperatures which may cause undesirable side reactions andthermal cracking before these vapors enter a quench zone in the mainfractionator of the fluid cracking unit.

Haddad et al., allowed U.S. Pat. No. 4,404,095, filed July 22, 1982,disclose an FCC reactor comprising a riser with radially extendingsidearms as the first catalyst-hydrocarbon separation means. Thesidearms force the suspension of the catalyst and the hydrocarbons tosuddenly change the direction of flow from the vertical to thehorizontal thereby forcing preliminary separation of the gaseoushydrocarbons from the solid catalyst particles. The catalyst particlesfall in a downward direction, to a stripping means, while thehydrocarbons, with some entrained catalyst particles, proceed to asecondary separation means, such as a cyclone. The sidearms and thesecondary separation means are enclosed by a vertical conduit to preventrandom uncontrolled thermal cracking of the hydrocarbons. However, nomeans are provided in the apparatus and process of this Haddad et al.patent application for accommodating a sudden increase in pressure andthe accompanying sudden increased rate of flow of the catalyst. Suchunexpected increased pressure and the rate of flow of the crackingcatalyst may be caused, for example, by mechanical malfunctions ofequipment or by the vaporization of liquid water which may be introducedinto the system with the hydrocarbon feed, or by unit pressure upsets.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide an improved processand apparatus for rapidly separating cracking catalyst from gasiformmaterial and to provide an effective means of improving the ability ofthe FCC system to tolerate sudden system pressure increases and theaccompanying surges in the catalyst rate of flow.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved means forseparating cracking catalyst from gasiform material in a fluid catalyticcracking (FCC) process.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a process and anapparatus for separating cracking catalyst from gasiform materialwhereby the length of time the gasiform material is subjected to hightemperature after separation from the bulk of the catalyst is minimizedso as to reduce overcracking of the cracked products.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An FCC process and apparatus comprising a closed cyclone system forseparating the catalyst from cracked hydrocarbon feed after the mixtureof catalyst and feed exits the FCC cracking zone, e.g., FCC riser, isequipped with a means for providing a surge capacity to accommodate asudden increased rate of flow of the catalyst stream. In the FCC processand apparatus of the present invention, the first catalyst-hydrocarbonfeed separation means comprises a radially-extending restrictedpassageway means, or at least two sidearms, which accomplishes apreliminary separation of the catalyst from the products of the reactionby centrifugal forces in the curvature of the sidearms. Most of thecatalyst stream is then directed to a disengaging zone, e.g., a steamstripper, placed below the radially-extending passageways, and thehydrocarbon product, along with a minor proportion of entrained catalystfines, is directed to a cyclone separation means placed downstream ofthe radially-extending passageway. An enclosed, vertically-positionedconduit surrounds the sidearms and connects the sidearms with thedisengaging zone and with the cyclone separation means. Both, thecatalyst stream and the hydrocarbon product, after leaving the sidearms,are conducted in the enclosed conduit from the sidearms to thedisengaging zone and to the cyclone separation means, respectively. Theenclosed conduit substantially reduces undesirable post-riser thermalcracking of the hydrocarbons by reducing the residence time in thesurrounding vessel, and thereby minimizing the production of light gasesand coke. The surge capacity means is provided in the enclosed conduit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a side view of a fluid catalyticcracking (FCC) reactor of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is the front view of the FCC reactor of the present invention,taken along the axis A--A of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of the detail of Section C--C of the circledarea B in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The means for providing surge capacity to accommodate a sudden increasedrate of flow of the catalyst stream can be, for example, a trickle valvewhich is positioned in the vertically disposed elongated restrictedpassageway, or an enclosed conduit surrounding the sidearms and steamstripper, at an elevation which is substantially opposite to andcorresponding to the opening of the sidearms, or downstream of thatpoint, or in both locations (e.g., see FIG. 1). Therefore, in the eventof a sudden unexpected surge of increased pressure and of the increasedcatalyst volume flow, the surge capacity means allows excess catalyst toexit the enclosure surrounding the sidearms, and the excess catalyst isdeposited in the bottom of the reactor vessel. The provision of thesurge capacity means prevents cyclone dipleg flooding and large catalystcarryover from the FCC reactor to the main fractionation column, both ofwhich might occur without the surge capacity means in case of the surgeconditions. In this connection, the term increased rate of catalystflow, as used herein and in the appended claims, designates a short term2 to 20-fold increase of the steady state flow rate of the catalystthrough the sidearms caused by operational upsets. Similarly, the termsudden increase in pressure designates the pressure increase inside theenclosed conduit of 2-10 psi, as compared to the steady state operatingconditions. In the most preferred embodiment, the bottom portion of thesurge capacity means is elevated with respect to the surface of theenclosure surrounding the sidearms in order to provide an opportunityfor steam, or other gases such as steam and hydrocarbon mixtures, toenter the inside of the enclosure for the purpose of preventing cokebuild-up along the edges of the surge capacity means which could renderthe surge capacity means inoperational. The bottom of the surge capacitymeans can be elevated, for example, by providing a serrated edge spacerin the wall of the enclosed conduit, which supports the bottom of thesurge capacity means in a spaced relationship with respect to theenclosure and allows for the gas from the stripper, e.g., steam andstripped hydrocarbons, to enter the enclosure. The remaining portion ofthe stripper gas and of the stripped hydrocarbons is conducted through aconduit carrying spent catalyst to the regenerator vessel.

The invention will now be described in connection with one specificembodiment thereof illustrated in FIGS. 1-3. This embodiment, however,is not to be construed as a limitation on the scope of the invention.

The basic design of the apparatus and process of FIGS. 1-3 isessentially the same as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,407 toHaddad et al., issued Aug. 26, 1980, and in a U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 400,843, filed July 22, 1982, except, of course, for the novelfeatures of the present invention. The entire contents of theaforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,407 and of the patent application areincorporated herein by reference. Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown areactor vessel 4 containing the upper end of riser hydrocarbonconversion zone 2. The riser terminates in an upper intermediate portionof vessel 4 with a horizontal sidearm 6, also referred to herein as aradially extending restricted passageway or radial passageway. Suchpassageway extends generally horizontally outwardly from the uppercapped end 8 of riser 2. The bottom side of radial passageway 6 is inopen communication with the passageway 16. The opening 10 of thepassageway points in the downward direction. Positioned below theopening is a catalyst collecting and stripping vessel 12 provided with aplurality of downward sloping baffles 14 to allow stripping steam, whichenters at the lower end of vessel 12, to intimately contact downwardlycascading catalyst. Vessel 12 has an open upper end enlarged to providea funnel shaped collection zone for the catalyst discharged from radialpassageway 6. The bottom end of vessel 12 is also open-ended to permitthe stripped catalyst to pass to the body of stripped catalyst collectedin the lower end of vessel 4.

The lower end of the radial passageway 6 is in direct fluidcommunication with an elongated restricted passageways 15 and 16 which,in turn, are in direct fluid communication with the inlet of a cycloneseparator 18. Passageways 15 and 16 provide the gasiform material with ameans for a rapid transfer from the radially extending passageway to thecyclone separator, while at the same time assuring that substantially noopportunity exists for post-riser thermal cracking of the hydrocarbonsexiting from the passageway 6. Cyclone separator 18 is provided with aconventional dipleg 20 to return separated solid catalyst particles tothe body of catalyst in the lower portion of vessel 4. Vapor outlet 22conducts the separated vapor directly to plenum chamber 24 for removalfrom vessel 4 through line 26 for passage to a downstream fractionationequipment, not shown in the drawing. At least a portion of the strippingsteam, which may flow downwardly in the stripping vessel, together withsome of the hydrocarbons stripped from the catalyst, flows from thebottom of stripping vessel 12 and passes to the upper portion of vessel4, wherein it enters passageways 15 and 15A through valves 19 and 19A,discussed below. Cyclone 28 is also provided with a conventional dipleg32 which delivers separated catalyst particles to the body of catalystin the lower section of vessel 4. The catalyst in the lower section ofvessel 4 forms a bed whose upper boundary is indicated at the level 21.In contrast, the catalyst in the stripping vessel 12 builds up to thelower level 23. Vapor outlet 30, similar to the outlet 22, conducts thevapor separated in cyclone 28 to a plenum chamber 24 and subsequently tothe conduit 26 for delivery to a downstream fractionation unit.

The open lower portion 10 of radial passageway 6 is in opencommunication with restricted passageway 16 which completely enclosesthe sidearms 6 and which provides direct fluid communication between theinlet of cyclone separator 18 and sidearms 6. Restricted passageway 16consists of a lower portion 15 and an upper portion 17, both portionsbeing connected by a conventional slip joint, not shown in the drawingfor clarity. The passageway 16 is completely enclosed to provide adirect passage from open end 10 to cyclone 18. Therefore, the passageway16 completely surrounds and contains radially extending restrictedpassageways 6 in spaced relationship thereto and is connected to the topof stripping vessel 12 and the inlet of cyclone 18. Passageway 16provides a means for rapid transfer of the gasiform material, exitingradial passageways 6, and of the stripping steam and strippedhydrocarbons leaving the top of stripping vessel 12 directly to cycloneseparator 18. Two trickle valves 19 and 19A are provided in the portion15 of the conduit 16 to provide a means of accommodating sudden surgesof catalyst flow through the sidearms 6. Additional trickle valves maybe provided on the opposite sides or at any other point of the peripheryof the portion 15 of the conduit 16 at the elevation similar to that ofthe valves 19 and 19A. Alternatively, the trickle valves 19B and 19C maybe positioned only in the portion 17 of the conduit 16, as shown inphantom lines in FIG. 1. In yet another embodiment, four or more tricklevalves may be provided in the conduit 16. In this embodiment, twotrickle valves 19 and 19A are provided in the portion 15 and two tricklevalves 19B and 19C are provided in the portion 17 of the conduit 16. Itwill be obvious to those skilled in the art that one or more of thetrickle valves 19, 19A, 19B or 19C may be placed on the opposite sidesof the portions 15 or 17 of the conduit 16, i.e., at the location 180°from the location shown in FIG. 1. Alternatively, the trickle valves 19,19A, 19B and 19C may be supplemented by one or more additional tricklevalves placed on the opposite sides of the portions 15 and 17 of theconduit 16. The trickle valves are sized to accommodate surges of up to20 times of the steady rate of catalyst flow.

FIG. 2 illustrates the construction of valve 19, and it will be apparentto those skilled in the art that other valves may be constructed in asimilar manner. As understood by those skilled in the art, FIG. 2 showshow concentrated catalyst passes along the curved surface of the radialpassageway 6 into the open upper end of stripping vessel 12, asillustrated by arrows X in FIG. 2. The gasiformed part of the suspensioncomprising hydrocarbon vapors, thus centrifugally separated fromentrained catalyst particles in the disengaging space provided betweenopening 10 of passageway 6 and vessel 12, moves out from under radialextending restricted passageway 6 into restricted passageway 15, asillustrated by arrows Z, where they are joined by stripped hydrocarbonsand stripping steam leaving the top of stripping vessel 12, asillustrated by arrows Y. These flows X, Y and Z resemble flows ofcatalyst, steam and hydrocarbon vapors as in FIG. 3 of U.S. Pat. No.4,404,095 to Haddad et al. discussed above. The trickle valve 19 issupported by ring hinges 23 shown in FIG. 2. The bottom portion of theplate 19 of the trickle valve leans against the serrated edge 25 shownin FIG. 3. The serrated edge is attached to the portion 15 of therestricted passageway 16. In this manner, a portion of steam from thebottom of stripper 12, along with stripped hydrocarbons, is able toenter the enclosed passageway 16 and cyclones 18 and 28. The function ofthis portion of the steam is to prevent coke build-up on the edge ofplate 19 which could partially or totally seal shut trickle valve 19.

When using the apparatus of the present invention, a suspension offluidizible catalyst particles in gasiform material, such as hydrocarbonvapors, is caused to flow upwardly through riser 2 and outwardly throughradially extending arms 6. The top of the riser is capped and the end ofthe radially extending arm is terminated in an elbow whose end isdisposed in a downward direction. The end of this elbow is pointedtoward the stripping vessel 12. The abrupt change in direction of theflow of the suspension from vertical flow to horizontal flow and then toa downward flow pattern by the internal curved surface of the elbowestablishes centrifugal forces which cause a concentration of thecatalyst portion of the suspension, and subsequently a separationthereof from the hydrocarbon vapors. Referring to FIG. 1, theconcentrated catalyst stream passes along the curved surface of theelbow for discharge downwardly from open end 10 into the open upper endof the stripping vessel 12. The gaseous part of the suspensioncomprising hydrocarbon vapors is thereby centrifugally separated fromentrained catalyst particles in the disengaging space provided betweenopen end 10 of the elbow and vessel 12 and moves out from underradially-extending elbow 6 into restricted passageway 16 surrounding theradially-extending passageway 6 and providing a direct passage to thecyclones. In the passageway 16, the hydrocarbon vapors are joined bystripped hydrocarbons and stripping steam leaving the top of strippingvessel 12. These combined vapors pass upwardly through the passageway 16which provides a rapid transmission of the cracked vapors to cycloneseparator means 18 and 28 positioned in the upper portion of vessel 4.The principal purpose of restricted passageway 16 is to limit the timethe cracked vapors may be exposed to elevated temperatures if theyotherwise passed randomly and at lower velocity through the upperportion of vessel 4 to the cyclone separator means. By providing adirect path for the vapors to be transported out of the elevatedtemperature zone, they may be quenched and fractionated, in a controlledmanner, in the main fractionator of the processing unit, therebylimiting undesirable thermal overcracking.

Cyclone separating means 18 and 28 may be located in the upper portionof vessel 4, as shown in FIG. 1, or externally to that vessel and it maybe a single or multiple stage separating means, as would be obvious tothose skilled in the art. The cyclone separating means communicatesdirectly with each of the radially extending arms and the strippingvessels to directly conduct the vapors separated by the radiallyextending arms, as well as the hydrocarbons stripped from the catalystin the strippers 12 and the steam used in tne strippers. The passageway16 assures that substanially all of the hydrocarbons separated from thehydrocarbon-catalyst suspension in the sidearms 6 are conducted directlyto the cyclone separation means, thereby preventing or substantiallyeliminating uncontrolled thermal overcracking of the vapors outside ofthe riser. As set forth above, cyclone separators 18 and 28 are providedwith conventional diplegs 20 and 32, respectively, which return thecatalyst entrained in the gaseous vapors conducted to the cyclones tothe body of the stripped catalyst in the lower portion of vessel 4. Thecatalyst is removed through a conduit 34 for passage to a separateregeneration vessel, not shown, for regeneration by conventional means.The separated gaseous material is removed from the cyclones by vaporoutlets 22 and 30, respectively, to a chamber 24, and subsequently isconducted to a fractionation unit, not shown, by conduit 26. It will beapparent to those skilled in the art that more than the two cycloneseparating means, shown in FIG. 1, may be provided in the reactor vessel4, with each of the cyclone separating means operating substantially inthe manner of the cyclone separating means 18 and 28, discussed above.

According to the present invention, the separation of catalyst fromgaseous materials is achieved efficiently while, at the same time, thelength of time that the gaseous materials are subjected to high reactiontemperatures after separation from the catalyst is minimized. Theradially-extending passageways 6, facilitating the separation of thecatalyst from the gaseous vapors, and the restricted passageways 16 areprincipally responsible for the efficient separation with minimumthermal post-riser cracking. As will be apparent to those skilled in theart, more than the two radially-extending arms, shown in FIG. 1, may beprovided in order to facilitate rapid and effective separation of thecatalyst from the cracked hydrocarbons. The catalyst stripper may be anannular chamber, when several radial arms are employed, or a separatechamber provided for each radial arm. Similarly, the restrictedpassageway between the end of a radial arm and the inlet of the cyclonemay comprise a separate conduit for each radial arm, or a header joiningeach radial arm with a single large conduit connecting the vapor headerto the cyclone.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the specificembodiments discussed above can be successfully repeated withingredients equivalent to those generically or specifically set forthabove and under variable process conditions.

From the foregoing specification, one skilled in the art can readilyascertain the essential features of this invention and without departingfrom the spirit and scope thereof can adapt it to various diverseapplications.

I claim:
 1. A process for the fluid catalytic cracking of a hydrocarbonfeed whereby the hydrocarbon feed is catalytically cracked by passing asuspension of hydrocarbon feed and catalyst through a riser conversionzone under cracking conditions into a disengaging vessel, the catalystrecovered from said riser conversion zone is thereafter regenerated toremove carbonaceous deposits before return of the regenerated catalystto said riser conversion zone, and the hydrocarbon feed catalystsuspension is separated upon discharge from the riser conversion zone,comprising the following steps:(a) discharging the suspension outwardlythrough an opening in the upper periphery of the riser and through aradially extending restricted passageway having an opening at the bottomside of the outer extremity thereof whereby a substantially confinedcatalyst stream discharges in a downward direction generally separatefrom the cracked hydrocarbon feed vapors, said restricted passagewaybegin curved downwardly adjacent the outer end thereof to induce adownward movement of said confined catalyst stream in said passagewaysufficient to direct said stream downwardly into the open upper end of acatalyst stripping passageway positioned beneath said outer end tomaintain catalyst, so collected and directed, separate from saiddischarged cracked hydrocarbon feed vapors, and said radially extendingrestricted passageway being surrounded and contained by a verticallydisposed elongated restricted passageway in spaced relationship thereto,and the elongated restricted passageway being in fluid communication, atits upper end, with the inlet of a first cyclone separation means, and,at its lower end, with the catalyst stripping passageway and saidvertically disposed passageway being attached to the catalyst strippingpassageway to form a closed conduit, (b) passing the cracked hydrocarbonfeed vapors through the disengaging vessel to the upper portion thereofand into the entrance of the first cyclone separation means bydischarging the cracked hydrocarbon feed vapors from the outer extremityof the radially extending restricted passage to said vertically disposedelongated restricted passageway and passing the cracked hydrocarbon feedvapors from the vertically disposed elongated passageway into the firstcyclone separation means without passing into the atmosphere of saidvessel during steady state catalyst flow, said elongated restrictedpassageway comprising a surge capacity means, upstream of said firstcyclone, for accommodating a sudden increased rate of flow of saidcatalyst stream within said elongated restricted passageway, said surgecapacity means being closed during steady state rate of flow of saidcatalyst within said elongated restricted passageway, thereby preventingcatalyst flow therethrough but allowing stripping gas flow therethrough.2. The process according to claim 1, wherein said sudden increased rateof flow of said catalyst stream comprises 2-20 fold increase by volumeper unit of time of the steady state rate of flow of said catalyststream.
 3. The process of claim 1, wherein said stripping gas flows fromthe atmosphere of said disengaging vessel into said vertically disposedelongated restricted passageway through said surge capacity means duringnormal catalyst operation and catalyst flows from said elongatedpasssageway, through said surge capacity means, into said reactoratmosphere during said sudden increased rate of catalyst flow.
 4. Theprocess of claim 1, wherein said means for accommodating surge capacitycomprises an opening in said vertically disposed elongated restrictedpassageway covered by a trickle valve pivoted about a trickle valve axissubstantially perpendicular to the axis of said riser conversion zone.5. The process of claim 4, wherein the top portion of said trickle valveis pivoted about said trickle valve axis.
 6. The process of claim 5,wherein the bottom portion of said trickle valve is elevatedhorizontally with respect to said vertically disposed elongatedpassageway.
 7. The process of claim 6, wherein a serrated edge, attachedto said vertically disposed elongated passageway, horizontally elevatessaid bottom portion of said trickle valve.
 8. The process of claim 7,wherein said surge capacity means is located in said vertically disposedelongated restricted passageway at an elevation substantially paralleland corresponding to that of said opening of said radially extendingrestricted passageway.
 9. The process of claim 8, further comprising asecond surge capacity means upstream of said cyclone but downstream ofsaid first surge capacity means.
 10. The process of claim 6, whereinstripping gas passes through at least one port defined by said means forelevating and said valve.
 11. The process of claim 7, wherein saidserrated edge is located adjacent the bottom portion of said opening insaid elongated restricted passageway.
 12. The process of claim 7,wherein said bottom portion of said trickle valve contacts said serratededge when said valve is in a closed position.
 13. The process of claim7, wherein the horizontal dimension of said trickle valve is greaterthan its vertical dimension.
 14. A process for the fluid catalyticcracking of a hydrocarbon feed whereby the hydrocarbon feed iscatalytically cracked by passing a suspension of hydrocarbon feed andcatalyst through a riser conversion zone under cracking conditions intoa disengaging vessel, the catalyst recovered from said riser conversionzone is thereafter regenerated to remove carbonaceous deposits beforereturn of the regenerated catalyst to said riser conversion zone, andthe hydrocarbon feed catalyst suspension is separated upon dischargefrom the riser conversion zone, comprising the following steps:(a)discharging the suspension outwardly through an opening in the upperperiphery of the riser and through a radially extending restrictedpassageway having an opening at the bottom side of the outer extremitythereof whereby a substantially confined catalyst stream discharges in adownward direction generally separate from the cracked hydrocarbon feedvapors, said restricted passageway being curved downwardly adjacent theouter end thereof to induce a downward movement of said confinedcatalyst stream in said passgeway sufficient to direct said streamdownwardly into the open upper end of a catalyst stripping passagewaypositioned beneath said outer end to maintain catalyst, so collected anddirected, separate from said discharged cracked hydrocarbon feed vapors,and said radially extending restricted passageway being surrounded andcontained by a vertically disposed elongated restricted passageway inspaced relationship thereto, and the elongated restricted passagewaybeing in fluid communication, at its upper end, with the inlet of afirst cyclone separation means, and, at its lower end, with saidvertically disposed passageway being attached to the catalyst strippingpassageway to form a closed conduit, (b) passing the cracked hydrocarbonfeed vapors through the disengaging vessel to the upper portion thereofand into the entrance of the first cyclone separation means by,discharging the cracked hydrocarbon feed vapors from the outer extremityof the radially extending restricted passageway to said verticallydisposed elongated restricted passageway and passing the crackedhydrocarbon feed vapors from the vertically disposed elongatedpassageway into the first cyclone separation means, said elongatedpassageway comprising an opening covered by a trickle valve, a topportion of the trickle valve being pivoted about a trickle valve axissubstantially perpendicular to the axis of the riser conversion zone, abottom portion of the trickle valve being elevated horizontally,relative to the vertically disposed elongated restricted passageway, bya means for elevating, (c) closing said trickle valve during a steadystate rate of catalyst flow within said elongated restricted passageway,thereby preventing catalyst flow through said opening covered by saidtrickle valve but allowing stripping gas to flow into said elongatedrestricted passageway through a port defined by contacting said tricklevalve and said elevating means.